3 weeks ago
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Footy great James Hird has expressed his worries that Jamarra Ugle-Hagan will struggle to get interest from other footy clubs, should he part company with the Bulldogs at the end of the season.
The 23-year-old has rarely been seen at training this season, after taking an indefinite personal leave away from the club to deal with several personal issues and his mental health.
But the 2020 number one pick has sounded alarm bells on his future, with Ugle-Hagan appearing to be no closer to making his return to professional footy.
While he has recently undergone a fitness training camp in New South Wales, Ugle-Hagan was caught up in an incident at a Melbourne nightclub last week, where gunshots were heard after an altercation in the early hours of the morning.
There is no suggestion by Daily Mail Australia that Ugle-Hagan had involvement in the alleged altercation or had been in possession of a firearm.
Ugle-Hagan admitted to News Corp that he had been ‘lucky’ to avoid not getting shot, after gunfire erupted at the Love Machine bar in Prahran during the early hours of the morning last Sunday.
Several pundits have claimed that Western Bulldogs player Jamarra Ugle-Hagan (pictured) will not play AFL football next year
James Hird (left) and Tom Morris (right) are both of the view that Ugle-Hagan will struggle to get offers from clubs
The footy player was last week seen in a nightclub at 2am and admitted that he was 'lucky' he didn't get shot after gunfire was heard after an altercation took place at the venue
But in the wake of the shocking events last Sunday, his coach Luke Beveridge has made his most telling comments yet on the matter, with Beveridge having previously only warned that Ugle-Hagan’s future in the AFL depended on how he responded to scrutiny.
Now though, the Bulldogs boss appears to have made clear that Ugle-Hagan could be out of the door come next season.
‘He seems like he's healthy enough and he's still training on. I'm just hoping for him that at the end of it all, there's an opportunity for him to play AFL footy next year,’ Beveridge said.
Now, multiple footy pundits, commentators and journalists have questioned whether Ugle-Hagan will be able to land himself a new club and play AFL football again.
Matthew Lloyd suggested last week that Ugle-Hagan ‘would not play another game of AFL football’.
'I used the word trust. I don't trust him. I wouldn't want him at my football club,’ Lloyd explained on Footy Classified. That's the view I have on someone who is disrespecting the game and is disrespecting the opportunity that he's got, in my opinion.'
He added that his 2am jaunt to the Love Machine nxightclub was not helping his situation.
‘I hate seeing that. There are so many blokes who would give their left arm to get that opportunity,’ he added.
Luke Beveridge (pictured) has also appeared to signall that Ugle-Hagan's time at the Kennel is coming to an end
Ugle-Hagan has not played this season after taking an indefinite leave away from football to address his mental wellbeing
Now, James Hird and Tom Morris have also issued their fears over whether Ugle-Hagan will be snapped up by another club.
The Former Essendon coach, reflecting on the situation, asked Tom Morris on Nine’s Footy Furnace on Sunday: ‘Realistically, which club is going to take Jamarra Ugle-Hagan?’ Hird said.
‘Is there a world where another club takes him?’
Morris believes that his options are slim at best.
‘I would be shocked if he’s on a list next year,’ Tom Morris said on Footy Furnace.
‘He’s got a lot of work to do. Not saying he can’t play AFL again.
‘But just the way it’s going, I don’t think he’s going to be at the Dogs and I don’t think another club’s going to take him.’
Ugle-Hagan was the Bulldogs’ leading goalkicker during the 2024 campaign, and since making his debut for the club in 2021 the 23-year-old footy player has made 67 appearances.
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